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Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA202402S
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00:02 male announcer: It is the best selling book in history.
00:05 No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted, and its 00:10 words, sometimes simple and sometimes mysterious, should 00:14 always be studied carefully. 00:16 It is the Bible, the Word of God. 00:19 Welcome to "Bible Answers Live," providing accurate and practical 00:24 answers to all your Bible questions. 00:28 This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. 00:31 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 00:34 broadcast, call 800-835-6747. 00:38 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 00:43 Now, here's your host from Amazing Facts International, 00:47 Pastor Doug Batchelor. 00:49 Doug Batchelor: Hello, listening friends. 00:51 Would you like to hear an amazing fact about cloves? 00:55 Cloves are a basic spice that you can buy in any supermarket 00:58 for about $3, and they're used to spice up cookies, 01:01 cakes, and even flavor Worcestershire sauce. 01:04 But these dried flower buds have, 01:06 quite literally, altered the course of history. 01:09 Cloves are more than just a flavoring. 01:11 They contain a good mix of vitamins and minerals and have 01:14 some medicinal properties as a natural painkiller 01:17 or to settle a stomach. 01:19 But in the 16th century, cloves were thought to be the cure for 01:22 almost everything and used to treat a wide range of ailments, 01:26 including intestinal distress, impotence, 01:29 diarrhea, vomiting, and cholera. 01:31 In fact, cloves were so precious, they were literally 01:34 worth more than their weight in gold. 01:38 At one time, the only place in the world that you could get 01:40 cloves was in the Maluku Islands off of Indonesia. 01:44 Wars were fought, nations were formed, and thousands 01:47 perished in an effort to control the spice trade. 01:51 It was in pursuit of a shorter route to these spice islands 01:54 that the fleet of Ferdinand Magellan became the first 01:57 expedition to circumnavigate the Earth. 01:59 In 1519, Magellan set out with 5 ships, 02:03 carrying about 270 men, heading for the Malukus. 02:08 Three years later, only one leaking ship came limping home 02:12 with 18 starving crew members. 02:15 Incredibly, the voyage still made money because of the 02:19 fantastic value of the few cloves they brought with them. 02:23 It's hard to imagine people willing to die for an herb in 02:26 your spice cabinet. 02:28 You might be surprised to know the Bible says that a few words 02:31 of scripture are worth much more than cloves or gold. 02:36 Pastor Ross, makes me think about those verses in the Bible 02:39 and this is just a sampling of a few: Psalms 119: "The law of 02:44 Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins 02:47 of gold and silver." 02:49 Or you look in Proverbs 8, verse 8 through 10: "Receive My 02:54 instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather that choice 02:57 gold; For wisdom is better than rubies, 03:00 And all the things that one might desire cannot 03:02 be compared with her." 03:04 And then, of course, you get the, what is it, 03:06 Psalm 19: "The law of the Lord is sweeter than 03:08 honey in the honeycomb, more desired are they than 03:11 gold, much fine gold." 03:12 And so, yeah, it's kind of incredible. 03:15 I've been reading history and I think you and I have been 03:17 sharing some of these history books of how people would fight 03:22 and die for these herbs that we just kind of 03:25 sprinkle on our food. 03:27 And in fact, during the Roman era, 03:29 they paid people with salt. 03:31 That's where we get the word "salary." 03:33 But the Word of God is worth more than 03:38 silver, gold, or any of those things. 03:39 Jëan Ross: Absolutely, you know, the--talking about 03:41 these herbs and cloves and how they felt that it preserved, 03:44 you know, your physical life, but the Word of God 03:47 preserves your spiritual life. 03:49 So it is more valuable. 03:51 It lasts not just for this life, but in eternity. 03:54 We have a study guide talking about the Bible: 03:56 How do you understand the Bible? 03:57 Can you trust the Bible? 03:59 It's one of our Amazing Facts Study Guides. 04:00 It's called, "Is There Anything Left You Can Trust?" 04:03 And this is our free gift to anyone who calls and asks. 04:05 The number is 800-835-6747. 04:09 You can ask for "Offer Number 103," or ask for it by name. 04:12 It's called, "Is There Anything Left You Can Trust?" 04:15 You can also order this by dialing #250 on your smartphone 04:19 and just say, "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for it. 04:22 It's called "Anything Left You Can Trust?" 04:25 and we'll be happy to send it to anyone in North America. 04:27 If you're outside of the US, or outside of North America, 04:30 just go to the website, AmazingFacts.org. 04:34 Well, we're ready to go to the phone lines but, 04:35 before we take our first caller, let's start with prayer. 04:39 Dear Father, we are grateful that we have this time to be 04:41 able to open up Your Word and, indeed, 04:43 that is precious, it is powerful. 04:45 It's more valuable than anything that we have here on this earth 04:49 for it is the word of life. 04:50 And so we ask Your blessing as we study together. 04:52 Be with those who are listening. 04:54 Lead us into a clearer understanding of Your Word, 04:57 for we ask this in Jesus's name, amen. 04:59 Doug: Amen. 05:00 Jëan: Our first caller this evening, we've got Sharon 05:02 in Oregon; Sharon, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 05:05 Sharon: Good morning, or good evening. 05:06 Doug: Evening. 05:09 Sharon: I have a question on Revelation chapter 11, 05:13 and I understand that the two witnesses are the Old and New 05:17 Testament but, when it gets to verse 11 through 14, 05:22 it doesn't sound like it's talking about the same thing, 05:25 when they stand on their feet and then God calls them to 05:27 heaven, they ascend in a cloud. 05:29 Can you explain that part? 05:31 Doug: Yeah, the whole passage here about the two witnesses, 05:34 and I think it is a united passage, 05:36 when it says they finished their testimony, 05:39 now some have described it as the New and the Old Testament or 05:42 you might say the law and the prophets because you have these 05:45 two witnesses that appear to Jesus on the Mount of 05:48 Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah. 05:51 They represent the Word of God. 05:52 Moses, the great law-giver, Elijah, the great prophet. 05:55 Last words of the Old Testament are: "Remember the law of Moses. 05:59 Behold I send you Elijah the prophet." 06:01 And this is an attack on the Word of God, 06:05 which is dual in nature. 06:07 New and Old Testament, Ten Commandments have 06:09 two tables of stone. 06:11 And so, it's a sword with two edges. 06:14 And so, then it says that when they finished their testimony, 06:17 the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit 06:19 will make war on them. 06:21 But you're wondering about, in verse 11, 06:23 where it says: "After three-and-a-half days the breath 06:26 of life enters them, and they stood on their feet." 06:27 The Word of God, well, it's talking about, 06:29 kind of, resurrected, stands back up again. 06:32 They've been dead, and it says 3 1/2 days. 06:35 A day is like a year. 06:37 This is talking about an attack on the Word of God and the 06:41 religion of Christ during the French Revolution where they 06:45 basically--they even went from a 7-day week to a 10-day week 06:49 because they said that the only place you can trace a 7-day week 06:53 to is the Bible. 06:54 And Bibles were burned and there was a big outcry. 06:58 France, basically, became the first atheist nation. 07:01 And--but after the reign of terror, 07:04 3 1/2 years later, things had just so imploded that they 07:08 sheepishly re-allowed the Bible to come back into the country. 07:12 And Napoleon, kind of the good and bad of Napoleon, 07:15 one of the things is he did then allow freedom of religion, where 07:18 before, the Christians were terribly persecuted. 07:20 Jëan: Mm-hmm, that 3 1/2-year period has been described as 07:23 November 10, 1793, that's when they passed the decree in the 07:27 French Assembly, outlawing the Bible, 07:29 and the Bibles were piled up and burnt in the street. 07:32 But exactly 3 1/2 years later, June 17, 07:34 1798, they overturned that decree. 07:38 They reversed the decree, allowing the Word of God and 07:41 freedom in the Word of God. 07:42 You know, it's also interesting, Pastor Doug, 07:43 that Voltaire, one of these famous atheistic authors who 07:47 scoffed at the Bible, he made a statement and said, 07:50 you know, within this generation, 07:53 the Bible would be an extinct book, 07:55 nobody would even pay any attention to it. 07:56 And you know, he published his writings and he 07:58 had a printing press. 07:59 The amazing thing is that just, you know, 08:02 decades later, not very long later, the Bible Society ended 08:06 up being set up, and they used the very printing press 08:09 that Voltaire used to propagate his atheistic views. 08:13 His same printing press was used to print the Bible. 08:17 So, indeed the Word of God was lifted up and magnified. 08:20 And of course, this brings you into the early 1800s where there 08:22 was a great revival, and Bible truth missionaries 08:25 were sent around the world. 08:26 The Bible was being translated in all kinds of languages. 08:29 Thus, it was lifted up and-- 08:31 Doug: Glorified, caught up to heaven. 08:34 Jëan: You know, we have a book called, 08:35 "The Ultimate Resource," and it's all about the Bible. 08:38 And you might enjoy this, Sharon, 08:39 or anyone who is watching or listening. 08:41 Just, again, the number to call is 800-835-6747. 08:46 You can ask for that book. 08:47 It's called, "The Ultimate Resource." 08:49 You can also dial #250 on your smartphone, 08:51 say "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for the book by name, 08:55 "The Ultimate Resource." 08:56 Let's go to Ryan in New Mexico. 08:59 Ryan, you're on the air. 09:01 Ryan: Oh, it's so nice to actually hear you guys. 09:04 You're awesome. 09:05 My question is: Did Jesus use two different calendars, the 09:09 Julian calendar and the moon--you know, 09:13 I just--I see a lot, you know, from the scriptures, 09:16 I see more evidence as far as it being the New Moon Day, 09:22 you know, as far as, you know, when they started their 6 09:25 working days, but then there was a New Moon Day, you 09:28 know, does that make sense? 09:31 I guess, did Jesus use the two calendar--different calendars? 09:34 I'm sorry. 09:35 Doug: No, I think I understand what you're saying. 09:37 Is--and just for our friends who are listening, 09:40 the Jews did use a lunar calendar. 09:42 Their months were controlled by the moon. 09:45 But the weekly Sabbath, which came every 7 days, 09:49 was a completely distinct cycle of time. 09:52 Sometimes, we look at a calendar which registers both the month 09:56 and the week and we think that they're conjoined. 09:58 They're not, it's just one piece of paper that's showing us two 10:01 distinct cycles of time. 10:03 The 7-day week dates back to Adam, you know, 10:07 and God rested on the 7th day and he blessed the 7th day. 10:11 And every 7th day those that follow God, 10:13 they kept honoring that as a Sabbath. 10:15 God reinstituted that for the children of Israel when they 10:19 came back out of Egypt. 10:21 Even before they got to Mount Sinai, God told them, 10:23 "I'm going to give you bread from heaven 6 days a week. 10:25 Seventh day, there'll be none. 10:28 Gather twice as much on," what we would 10:29 call Friday, "the 6th day." 10:32 And so, that cycle has been in continuity from the time of 10:38 Creation to the present day. 10:40 It is true the Jews had a calendar with 360 days, 10:44 but the New Moon would fall on different days of the week, 10:48 all throughout the year. 10:50 It had nothing to do with a weekly cycle. 10:52 So, just keep the two separate in your mind, 10:54 there's no problem. 10:56 Jëan: And of course, the lunar month, 10:58 as you mentioned, that was used for some of the ceremonial days 11:02 'cause they'd start counting and then there were certain 11:05 ceremonial days that fell on certain times of the week, 11:08 could be on different days. 11:10 That was considered a Sabbath. 11:11 In other words, they would often keep those ceremonial days as 11:15 the Sabbath, but that was always distinct 11:17 from the 7th day Sabbath. 11:18 Doug: Right, and every now and then when you had a lunar 11:21 Sabbath land on the weekly Sabbath, 11:22 they called it a high Sabbath. 11:24 Or if you had a--an annual feast Sabbath, 11:26 like the Passover, tells us in the Bible when it fell on the 11:30 Sabbath Day, they called it a high Sabbath. 11:32 But they're two distinct cycles of time. 11:35 Just like your birthday might be on a different 11:37 day of the week every year. 11:38 Jëan: Right, all right, well, thanks for your call, Ryan. 11:40 We've got James in Texas. 11:42 James, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 11:44 James: Yes, good evening, Pastors. 11:46 Doug: Hi, evening. 11:49 James: Yes, my question for the night will be: "Has the 11:52 latter rain happened because of so many predictions by pastors, 11:57 'cause I've been--I've watched them on YouTube and stuff like 12:00 that, and everybody's all talking about 'em on--they've 12:03 already seen visions and stuff like that." 12:06 Doug: Yeah, no, I don't think the latter rain--and let me just 12:09 explain for those listening what we're talking about. 12:13 The Jews in their agriculture, their farming language, 12:19 they would have one rain that would come to sprout the seed. 12:22 They called that the former or the first rain. 12:25 Then before the harvest they would have a 12:27 latter or last rain. 12:29 That would then ripen the crop for harvest. 12:33 Those terms are used for the outpouring of the Spirit. 12:35 When Christ came, He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem 12:39 and He said, "You'll receive that refreshing," and the power 12:43 of the Holy Spirit fell on them during Pentecost, 12:45 that is the former rain. 12:47 Before Christ comes, there's promises that you read, 12:51 both in the book of Joel and in the book of Acts, 12:53 that God is going to pour out His Spirit on all flesh. 12:56 And so, the question is has that happened yet? 12:58 I do not think so because we've not seen the evidence of the 13:03 Spirit and the power and the gospel spreading-- 13:05 and mostly the holiness. 13:08 I think that's one of the real signs you'll have is there'll be 13:11 just a real love and a holiness among God's people, 13:15 and the power of miracles, I mean, 13:17 real miracles, that we just have not seen. 13:21 So a lot of people are saying, "Oh, 13:22 I had a vision," and a lot of pastors are saying, 13:24 "Oh, this is the outpouring of the Spirit." 13:26 I don't think we've seen anything like Pentecost yet. 13:29 I think it's going to be evident when it happens. 13:31 Jëan: You know, we have a verse, Zechariah chapter 13:32 10, verse 1, that says: "Ask the LORD for 13:35 rain In the time of the latter rain, 13:37 and the LORD will make flashing clouds; 13:39 and give them showers of rain, Grass in 13:42 the field for everyone." 13:43 So, here we have a special prayer for the latter rain, 13:47 a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 13:49 And as you said, Pastor Doug, the former rain that took place 13:52 at Pentecost, was the seed that helped sprout the gospel 13:55 throughout the world, but there is a final ripening that has 13:58 to take place before Jesus comes. 14:00 Doug: Before the harvest. 14:01 Jëan: That's right, and the Bible speaks of 14:03 this special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 14:05 We want to be ready when that time comes, 14:08 that we might be ones who receive the latter rain. 14:11 We have a book. I just thought of it. 14:13 It's called, "Life in the Spirit." 14:14 It's about the Holy Spirit and living--preparing 14:17 for that latter rain. 14:18 If you'd like to receive it, the number to call is 800-835-6747. 14:22 You can ask for the book. 14:24 It's called, "Life in the Spirit." 14:25 You can also dial #250 on your smartphone, 14:28 say "Bible Answers Live," and ask for the book, 14:30 "Life in the Spirit." 14:32 We've got Oliver in St. Louis, Missouri. 14:34 Oliver, welcome to the program. 14:38 Oliver: Good evening, Pastors, 14:39 and thank you for the call. 14:42 My question is about the passage in Revelation that 14:46 talks about how at Jesus's Second Coming, every eye will 14:49 see Him, and addressing, specifically, 14:52 the part where, since the world is round, 14:55 how exactly does that happen physically? 14:58 It doesn't say, "Every eye will see Him at the same time," that 15:01 He could be doing a sweep of the world as He enters, and that 15:05 could be--people could see Him, I guess, 15:08 in sequence as He goes around. 15:10 Am I understanding correctly? 15:11 Doug: Yeah, and by the way, the verse is in Revelation 1:7 15:14 and it's also in Matthew 24. 15:17 It says: "They all--" in Matthew 24, it says: "All the tribes of 15:19 the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming." 15:23 And then here in Revelation 1, it says: "Behold, 15:25 He's coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him." 15:28 And so, some have wondered, "Well, if the world's round, 15:30 how does everybody see Him at the same time?" 15:32 Well, I don't think the verse is saying everybody 15:34 sees Him simultaneously. 15:36 I think it's saying the Day of the Lord, 15:37 when He does come, and it says, you know, 15:40 "He sends forth His angels to the four corners of the Earth," 15:44 and Christ is going to, I believe, make a circuit around 15:47 the Earth and we are caught up to meet Him in the air. 15:50 As He does that, everybody in the world will see Him. 15:53 But it doesn't mean at the same moment. 15:55 Jëan: Mm-hmm, absolutely. 15:56 We've got a study guide, talking about the Second Coming. 15:58 It's called, "The Ultimate Deliverance," and we'll be happy 16:01 to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 16:03 Very exciting and important study. 16:04 It's all about the Second Coming, 16:06 "The Ultimate Deliverance." 16:07 The number is 800-835-6747 or you can dial #250, 16:12 ask for the study guide by name, "Ultimate Deliverance." 16:16 Thank you. We've got Henry in New York. 16:19 Henry, welcome to the program. 16:21 Henry: Yes, Pastor, good evening. 16:23 My question is: People who are born mentally sick, 16:28 mentally--if they die at the age of 90 years old and 16:33 they're still mentally sick, if they do certain things, will God 16:36 hold it against them?" 16:39 Doug: Yeah, well, God is a loving God, 16:41 Henry, and so if a person has some kind of mental handicap, 16:45 you know, He may judge many of them as you would a child before 16:49 the age of accountability, and they would be saved. 16:53 The Bible says that to whom much is given, much is required. 16:56 If a person is given little, little is required. 16:58 And some people, they just don't understand. 17:02 And Jesus said people are judged because they do understand 17:06 and they ignore the truth. 17:07 He said if you were blind you would have no sin, but now you 17:10 say, "We see, or we understand," He says your sin remains. 17:13 So, people who, they're handicapped in some way and they 17:16 just can't understand, God is a merciful God. 17:19 And so, we never have to worry about will God be fair. 17:22 God, He's the very epitome of justice. 17:25 Jëan: All right, very good. 17:26 Oscar, listening in New York. 17:28 Oscar, welcome to the program. 17:31 Oscar: Yes, sir. 17:33 The Bible says that "God is a consuming fire." 17:36 So my question is this: Is the lake of fire in 17:39 the book of Revelation, God? 17:41 Doug: That's talking about, you know, 17:43 He's got a Shekinah glory, a presence, 17:46 and it says a fire devours before Him, 17:50 and the Bible tells us that the wicked--when Christ comes, 17:53 the wicked are destroyed by the brightness, 17:55 the glory, of His Coming. 17:58 It's almost like when I was a kid, 18:01 we would sometimes play with a magnifying glass on a summer day 18:04 and it wasn't very nice, but we'd burn ants, and just the 18:07 magnification of just that light was enough to burn up the ants. 18:12 Well, the glory of God is going to be bright, 18:14 but it will not hurt the righteous, 18:16 but it will destroy the wicked. 18:19 Now, that's separate from the lake of fire 'cause the Bible 18:22 says: "These are separated from God. 18:26 It's--they are cast away, they are cast into the lake of fire. 18:29 So the lake of fire where the wicked are consumed and 18:32 devoured, that is not the--God's glory. 18:36 It is--by lake of fire, like the fire and brimstone burn 18:39 up Sodom and Gomorrah. 18:41 Jëan: And in Revelation chapter 20 we read about what's 18:43 called the Great White Throne Judgment. 18:45 Describes the wicked outside of the New Jerusalem, 18:47 the righteous are inside the city, and there is a final 18:50 judgment and they can actually see God, so He must 18:53 veil His glory somehow during that judgment time. 18:56 And then the wicked mount their attack upon the New Jerusalem. 18:59 And then fire comes down from heaven and devours them and it 19:02 talks here in Revelation chapter 20, 19:03 verse 15: "Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was 19:07 cast into the lake of fire." 19:09 So, again, you've got God the Father or the glory of God, 19:13 somehow veiled because the wicked are not destroyed, 19:15 and yet there is the lake of fire in which they are cast 19:18 at the end of that judgment. 19:19 Doug: Yeah, and that final judgment is not God's light or 19:22 glory 'cause it says they're cast into outer darkness where 19:25 there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. 19:27 So it's a different punishment that you see there. 19:30 But, good question. Thank you, Henry. 19:32 Jëan: We've got Christiana in Florida. 19:36 Christina, rather, sorry. 19:37 Christine--Christina, welcome to the--to "Bible Answers Live." 19:41 Christina: Hi, good evening. 19:43 Doug: Evening. 19:44 And your question? 19:47 Christina: Yeah, I have a question: Will we be able to 19:50 see God when we go to heaven, because there is a lot of 19:54 different conflicting things in the Bible. 19:57 For example, 1 Timothy chapter 6, 20:00 verse 16 says that, you know, no one will ever see God and we'll 20:04 never be able to see Him, but Moses saw God's back and then 20:08 there's another verse that says: "Blessed are those that are 20:11 righteous for they'll see God," and then there's another verse 20:14 that says we would be consumed if we saw God 20:17 because we're so sinful. 20:19 So when we get to heaven, will we actually be able to see God? 20:23 Doug: Well, the simple answer is yes, 20:26 and my verse is Revelation 22:4, last chapter in the Bible. 20:30 Says: "They will see His face," speaking of the saved. 20:35 Now, right now, we cannot see God the Father because the 20:38 glory, as I mentioned, would just--it would consume us. 20:41 And even God told Moses who is holy, 20:44 "No man can see My face," His unveiled glory, 20:48 "in their present condition." 20:50 Now, Moses is in the presence of God with a glorified body. 20:53 Now I'm sure he does see God's face. 20:55 And in heaven, you know, God used to 20:57 walk in the garden with Adam and Eve. 20:58 They saw God. 21:01 The times in the Old Testament where it says they saw God, 21:03 they probably saw what we call a Christophany which is--it's 21:07 Christ before the incarnation. 21:09 They saw God the Son. 21:11 So anytime it says--and even Jesus said, 21:14 "No man can see the Father," and that's probably one of the 21:17 verses you're referring to, Christina. 21:19 So when it says that they can't see the Father, 21:22 it's talking about man in his fallen condition cannot see the 21:26 face of God the Father, we do see Jesus. 21:29 Christ said, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." 21:32 It's, you know, veiled in humanity. 21:34 But in heaven, it's as clear as it can be. 21:38 We will see His face. God Himself will dwell with us. 21:41 Jëan: Okay, thank you. Doug: Thanks, good question. 21:44 Jëan: We've got Justin in Wisconsin. 21:46 Justin, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 21:49 Justin: Hi, my question is: How do you keep 21:51 the commandments? 21:52 Doug: How do you keep them? 21:54 Well, Jesus says: "If you love Me." 21:56 The best way to keep the commandments is 21:59 because you love God. 22:00 I was just reading today, Pastor Ross, 22:02 you know, I'm starting a new Bible-reading program and I'm in 22:05 Genesis where Jacob is working for Rachel. 22:10 He's got to work 7 years. 22:11 The Bible says he loved her so much, 22:13 it seemed like days. 22:16 The work seemed like nothing because of the love 22:18 that he had for Rachel. 22:20 And the more we love the Lord, any good works or obedience is 22:24 just--it's an act of love. 22:26 We want to do the things that please Him. 22:28 So, if we're struggling to obey, the question is how 22:32 do we love God more? 22:33 The Bible tells us that we love Him because He first loved us. 22:38 So when we see and we behold Christ's love for us in His life 22:43 and on the cross, it moves our hearts and we love Him 22:47 and want to serve Him. 22:49 Jëan: That verse you're referring to is John chapter 14, 22:51 verse 15, where Jesus says: "If you love Me, 22:53 keep My commandments." 22:54 And we love Him because He first loved us. 22:56 We need to behold Him. 22:57 We behold Him through His Word. 22:59 Pastor, like you mentioned, you started 23:01 a new Bible-reading plan. 23:02 Well, I read the very same passage of scripture 'cause 23:05 we're probably on the same plan. 23:07 And we just want to encourage people, 23:08 what a great opportunity. 23:10 If you're not on a Bible-reading plan, 23:12 you need to get on one. 23:13 I mean, it doesn't take long, actually, 23:15 it's--if you read the Bible over a year, 23:18 it's divided up, you could probably read your daily portion 23:20 within 10, 15 minutes. 23:22 So it doesn't take long. 23:23 There's even apps that will read the Bible to you and help 23:27 you stay on track so-- 23:28 Doug: And they'd appreciate the lesson we offer to everybody 23:30 about the Bible: "Is There Anything Left You Can Trust?" 23:33 Jëan: Mm-hmm, the number for that is 800-835-6747. 23:37 You can ask for the study guide, "Anything Left You Can Trust?" 23:40 or dial #250 on your smartphone, say "Bible Answers Live," and 23:45 Amazing Facts does actually have, 23:46 I just thought of it now, a Bible-reading plan. 23:49 If you don't have one, of course, you can get one for 23:51 free online or you can just simply go to Amazing Facts and 23:54 find out about the free Bible-reading plan that we have. 23:58 Okay, next caller that we have is Cedric in Florida. 24:01 Cedric, welcome to the program. 24:05 Cedric: Thank you, Pastors, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. 24:09 This is a question for Pastor Doug: What is your 24:14 opinion on people who are cremated and still buried?" 24:17 Doug: Cremated and still buried? 24:21 I'm not sure what you mean: "cremated and buried." 24:22 So you mean if they're cremated and then they're buried, 24:24 does that affect the Resurrection, or-- 24:27 Cedric: No, what I'm--all I'm saying is that some people are 24:32 cremated and they're not scattered. 24:35 Their ashes is being buried in the cemetery. 24:38 Doug: Yeah, well, yeah, and matter of fact, 24:40 that's what happened with my grandparents is they were 24:43 cremated and then they have a cemetery. 24:45 They've got a wall that's full of urns, and they have people do 24:49 that economically 'cause it saves space compared 24:51 to a whole coffin. 24:53 But, you know, I don't think there's really any difference. 24:56 The Bible tells us: "Ashes to ashes, 24:59 and dust to dust," so it's not a problem for God to resurrect. 25:03 Now, technically, if you say, "What is the Bible method for 25:09 disposing of dead or how do you treat the dead?" 25:12 almost 99% of the time it's burial. 25:16 You know, Abraham was buried, Isaac was buried, 25:18 Joseph was buried. 25:19 They were embalmed, but then they were buried. 25:21 Only one or two examples in the Bible of a believer 25:24 that was cremated. 25:25 Now, many of the martyrs who died for their faith, 25:29 they were burned at the stake. 25:30 Well, they're certainly going to be resurrected, 25:32 so cremation does not prevent God from resurrecting you. 25:36 Then folks have argued, you know, 25:38 now with so many people in the world, 25:40 all the space taken up by cemeteries, 25:41 how can we keep doing this, you know, 25:44 I don't know that there--it's a--what's the word for it? 25:46 I don't know that it's a saved/lost question, 25:49 but biblically, if you want to know what they did, 25:52 it was typically burial. 25:54 Jëan: That's right, you know, the Bible does talk about 25:56 a couple of examples where a believer, as far as we know, 25:59 was burnt, and you have 1 Samuel chapter 31, verse 12, talks 26:03 about the bones of Jonathan after his death were gathered 26:07 and they were burnt and, of course, we believe 26:08 that Jonathan will be saved. 26:10 He was a good man and he'll be in heaven. 26:12 Doug: And you know, during the Reformation, some of the 26:15 martyrs like Whitefield or Wycliffe, they scattered their 26:19 ashes in the river and they thought that'll prevent this. 26:22 Friend, you hear the music. We're just taking a break. 26:24 We're going to come back with more Bible answers. 26:26 Don't go anywhere. 26:30 announcer: Stay tuned, "Bible Answers Live" 26:32 will return shortly. 26:38 Doug: Would you like to have unlimited free access to a 26:41 library of resources that'll help answer your most important 26:44 questions about the Bible? 26:46 Amazing Facts has a huge collection of faith-building 26:49 books, covering a whole spectrum of topics. 26:52 You can download and read wherever you are 26:54 in multiple languages. 26:56 To enjoy our free library, visit AMAZINGFACTS.ORG, 27:01 click on the "Bible Study" tab and choose "Free Book Library." 27:08 announcer: Do you feel as though your world is spiraling 27:10 out of control, or perhaps new life challenges are frightening 27:14 you more than they should? 27:15 Are you sinking while you're thinking? 27:17 Excessive worry can consume you, eating you from the inside out, 27:21 resulting in sickness, insomnia, and paralyzing fear. 27:25 It can also damage relationships, ruin 27:27 opportunities, and yes, diminish your witness for the gospel. 27:32 Doug: Worry affects everybody differently, 27:34 but it's all driven by fear. 27:36 So how can you overcome a world full of reasons to be anxious? 27:41 I'd like to recommend for you my new book, 27:43 "Finding Peace in a World of Worry." 27:46 You'll discover a lifeline to victory, 27:49 a place where you can cast your cares upon Christ and experience 27:53 a serenity that isn't subject to your circumstances. 27:56 announcer: Send a gift of any amount to receive your copy of 27:59 Pastor Doug's new book, "Finding Peace in a World of Worry." 28:03 Call 877-232-2871 today. 28:08 announcer: Jerusalem, the city of peace, has been a place 28:11 of unending conflict for centuries. 28:13 Many now believe that Jerusalem will soon 28:15 take centerstage again. 28:17 But what does the Bible say? 28:19 "The Fall & Rise of Jerusalem" presents the vital history you 28:22 need to know about Jerusalem and its role in 28:25 end-time Bible prophecy. 28:27 This Amazing Facts edition of the classic volume, 28:30 "The Great Controversy," is the perfect sharing book. 28:33 Get your copy at afbookstore.com. 28:37 announcer: Doug Batchelor was the teenaged son of a 28:39 millionaire father and show business mother, 28:42 yet he was living in a cave. 28:44 He had everything money could buy, 28:46 everything but happiness. 28:48 But all of the fun and excitement he enjoyed left his 28:50 life out of control. 28:52 His search eventually led him to a cave above Palm Springs that 28:56 became his home. 28:58 While Doug scavenged for food in garbage bins, 29:01 his father owned a yacht, a Lear jet, and an airline. 29:04 But in his cave home, he discovered a dust-covered Bible. 29:08 As he began to read, he soon learned of 29:10 his true purpose in life. 29:13 "The Richest Caveman" is the extraordinary true story of Doug 29:16 Batchelor that tells how a rebellious teenager who once 29:19 lived in a cave became a tremendous 29:21 soul-winner for Jesus Christ. 29:24 It's a thrilling testimony of the transforming 29:26 power of God's Word. 29:28 To order your copy of "The Richest Caveman," call 29:31 800-538-7275 or visit AFBOOKSTORE.COM. 29:40 announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live," where 29:43 every question answered provides a clearer picture of 29:46 God and His plan to save you. 29:49 So, what are you waiting for? 29:50 Get practical answers about the Good Book 29:53 for a better life today. 29:57 announcer: This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. 30:00 If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the 30:03 air, please call us next Sunday between 7 p.m. 30:07 and 8 p.m. Pacific time. 30:09 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 30:12 evening's program, call 800-835-6747. 30:17 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 30:22 Now, let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live." 30:28 Doug: Welcome back, listening friends, 30:30 to "Bible Answers Live." 30:31 You may not only be listening friends, 30:33 you might be watching friends. 30:34 You could be watching us on AFTV or on 3ABN. 30:38 We do the replays there or one of the other broadcasts, 30:41 Good News Network, and we welcome you. 30:43 You can also watch on Facebook Live. 30:46 We're broadcasting live on YouTube, 30:48 Amazing Facts YouTube, Doug Batchelor Facebook page, 30:52 and for those who are tuning in, this is a live international 30:55 interactive Bible study, and we take your phone calls and, 30:59 with very little warning, we do our best 31:02 to answer your questions. 31:03 So, sometimes, our screeners will put up a little note here 31:06 and says they've got a question on the Trinity or whatever it 31:09 is, and then we just pray for wisdom and look at the Word of 31:12 God and answer your question. 31:13 So, if you have a question, you can call us, 31:16 800-GOD SAYS. 31:17 That's 800-463-7297. 31:21 I am Doug Batchelor. 31:22 Jëan: And my name is Jëan Ross, 31:24 and we've got Jason standing by in Washington. 31:26 Jason, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 31:30 Jason: Hi, thank you, and thank you for your program. 31:33 My question is--well, first, I'm an atheist, and my question is a 31:36 lot of times when I talk with Christians and I sort of back 31:40 'em into a corner because we can't understand why God does 31:45 something, and a lot of times they'll say, 31:46 "Well, you know, we're just human, 31:49 and we can't understand God." 31:51 So I was calling to ask, specifically, 31:53 What is it about the human brain that doesn't allow us to 31:58 understand God," because I think there isn't anything missing in 32:02 the human brain that would allow us to understand God. 32:06 Doug: Well, I think, first of all, I'm delighted to talk to 32:07 you, I used to be an atheist too. 32:10 And I got to where I just didn't have enough faith to be an 32:13 atheist because, to me, there is--I can't find any evidence in 32:19 the observable universe where you get inner working systems, 32:24 organization, and design by chance. 32:28 There's always intelligence invested in those things. 32:30 Now, I think we can understand something about the mind of God 32:34 and, in the Bible, God says, "Come, 32:35 now let us reason together." 32:38 And there's a lot of evidence we see in the world of, 32:42 you know, just the symbiotic relationship between creatures 32:45 and plants and animals, a just incredible cycle of, 32:50 you know, we exhale what the plants inhale, so to speak. 32:54 And so there's a lot we understand from God, 32:57 both in His Word and in the observable universe. 33:01 You know, I'd love to see you read my book. 33:04 You can actually listen to the testimony for free online. 33:08 It's called, "The Richest Caveman," and it tells you why I 33:11 went from being an atheist or at least an agnostic 33:15 to believing in the Bible. 33:17 And I thought that would never happen. 33:19 But yeah, it's--I don't know if I'm answering 33:23 your question, though. 33:25 Jason: No, you're not. 33:27 Doug: Okay, you want to know what in our human minds would 33:29 prevent us from understanding the will of God? 33:33 Jason: Yeah. 33:35 Doug: Well, see, I think we can understand the will of God. 33:38 So, I'm having a problem with the question. 33:41 I think His Word-- 33:43 Jason: Well, I guess it doesn't apply to you. 33:45 Doug: Sorry, go ahead. 33:47 Jason: Well, I guess it doesn't apply to you. 33:48 Maybe it just applies to Christians who think they can't 33:53 because this is the problem I run up a lot when 33:57 I talk with Christians. 33:58 Doug: Well, no, in fairness, there's a lot of things that 34:01 happen we don't understand. 34:03 I mean, we see a tragedy where some innocent person suffers and 34:06 we think if God is good, why does that happen? 34:08 Now, to some extent, we do understand those things and a 34:12 lot of Christians don't--they don't explain it very well, 34:17 but there's a battle that is going on between good and evil. 34:20 Not only is there a good, loving God, 34:23 but the highest of His creation was a creature called Lucifer 34:27 that rebelled and came to this world and said, 34:30 "I can run things better." 34:32 And our first parents, they listened to Lucifer instead of 34:36 God and, basically, he hijacked the planet. 34:38 Now, there's a lot of forces at play here that are in the Bible, 34:41 people don't talk about. 34:42 So, a lot of the evil that we see in the 34:44 world is not God's will. 34:46 That's why Jesus said we should pray, "Thy will be done," 34:49 'cause a lot of things God doesn't want to happen. 34:52 So when we see things we don't understand, 34:55 you know, we can't see into the spiritual realm, 34:57 just like we can't see radio waves, 35:01 but they're very real. 35:03 Jëan: And of course, we mentioned earlier, 35:05 we do have a study guide that talks about the Bible. 35:08 And if you believe the Bible, and there's plenty of evidence 35:11 to support the Bible, that it is a trustworthy book, 35:14 and is a revelation, and if you read the Bible, 35:17 you understand more of this great controversy, 35:19 you understand what God is like and you understand the plan of 35:23 redemption and what God did to save mankind. 35:26 So, again, that is a great resource for 35:28 anyone wanting to learn more. 35:30 It's called, "The Ultimate Resource," 35:32 and you can just call and ask. 35:33 The number is 800-835-6747, ask for that study guide 35:38 called "The Ultimate Resource." 35:39 You can also dial #250. 35:42 Just say, "Bible Answers Live," and then 35:43 "The Ultimate Resource." 35:45 Thank you, Jason. We've got Grace in California. 35:47 Grace, welcome to the program. 35:50 Grace: Yes, thank you. 35:51 Good evening, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. 35:54 Doug: Evening. 35:55 Grace: My question is: "Is it okay for a student to take 36:00 yoga classes in college?" 36:03 Doug: Yeah, well, yoga--yeah, I used to be involved in Eastern 36:07 religions, and yoga was sort of a combination of, 36:11 you know, body exercises, procedures, cleansing, 36:16 and it was sort of combining the body and the spirit. 36:21 But it was woven into the mysticism of the religion. 36:26 So, for me, I would not be comfortable doing that. 36:29 I stop short of condemning people that are doing yoga 36:33 exercises for purely physical reasons but, 36:38 in its beginning, yoga is very much tied to a religious belief, 36:43 and there's other great exercises besides yoga classes. 36:47 Don't know if that helps a little. 36:49 Hope that makes sense, Grace. Thank you. 36:52 Jëan: We've got Christian in Texas. 36:54 Christian, welcome to the program. 36:56 Christian: Okay, so my question is Job chapter 1: "How 37:02 did Satan get into the presence of God and the angels if he was 37:06 kicked out of heaven?" 37:08 Doug: Well, first of all, the Bible doesn't say this 37:10 meeting was in heaven. 37:12 It says: "There was a day when the sons of God came to present 37:14 themselves before the LORD, and the devil came among them." 37:17 And this is in Job chapter 1. 37:20 So, you know, God left heaven every now and then, 37:25 for instance when He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, 37:27 He went other places to visit His creatures and His creation. 37:31 And so, wherever this meeting is, it doesn't say in 37:34 the Bible, Satan is able to access this meeting. 37:37 And I don't know that the devil was completely confined to the 37:40 earth until after the time of the cross. 37:44 I think Jesus said, "I beheld Satan fall like 37:46 lightning from heaven." 37:48 I think that up to that point he was able to still accuse. 37:53 You see him in the book of Zechariah, 37:54 he's standing before the Lord accusing the high priest. 37:57 Jëan: And when it says that the devil or Satan was cast out 38:00 of heaven, it's not necessarily meaning that he can never go 38:02 back for a meeting or something like that, 38:04 but it means that was no longer his home. 38:06 He was cast out of heaven, the dwelling place of God. 38:09 So, wherever the meeting took place, if it was 38:11 in heaven, well, the devil came for a specific reason. 38:14 He claimed the earth was his and he was representing the earth. 38:17 That's why God said, "Where did you come from?" 38:18 and he said, "Oh, from walking up and down on the earth." 38:20 So he claimed the earth is his. 38:22 Quite possibly, the sons of God that we read about there in Job 38:25 are representatives of other intelligent worlds 38:28 of unfallen beings. 38:30 The devil claims the earth is his, 38:32 so you have the story there, recorded in Job. 38:34 And, just to add to that, Revelation chapter 12 talks 38:37 about the devil being cast out of heaven and that took place 38:40 before Creation, but then it also says at the cross 38:43 the devil was cast down. 38:44 And, as you mentioned, at the cross. 38:46 Now, Jesus is the representative of the earth because the devil 38:49 is now bound to this earth. 38:51 Doug: Yeah, and you know, one more thing occurred to me while 38:52 you were talking is that, you know, 38:55 here in our world, I can talk to people, 38:56 I did it today on the other side of the planet. 38:59 And what makes us think that the devil had to actually be 39:03 standing in front of God to talk to God? 39:04 If we've got cell phones and internet, 39:07 then the devil can communicate with God 39:09 no matter where he is. 39:10 But I think this one, it does imply in the book of Job he 39:14 came into the presence. 39:16 He showed up. But thank you. 39:18 Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is 39:19 Natasha in New York; Natasha, welcome to the program. 39:22 Natasha: Thank you so much. 39:24 Okay, so my question is--it's based on Mark 9:5. 39:32 I saw that--well, I read that Moses and Elijah, 39:38 they made a cameo appearance in the New Testament, and I was 39:42 wondering about Enoch, 'cause I never--since God took Enoch, 39:47 I never saw--I never read about him again. 39:49 I just wanted to hear your thoughts on that. 39:52 Thank you, I listen often. 39:53 Doug: Yeah, good question. 39:55 You know, the Bible tells us not only did Elijah go to heaven 39:57 without dying, but "Enoch walked with God and he 40:00 was not for God took him." 40:01 Why was it only Moses and Elijah that appeared on the Mount of 40:06 Transfiguration that you find in Mark chapter 9? 40:10 And by the way, that's also in Luke and in Matthew. 40:14 I think it's because that, for that particular experience, 40:19 Moses and Elijah had a relationship with Jesus 40:23 different from Enoch's. 40:25 Both Moses and Elijah fasted 40 days 40:27 and 40 nights, as Jesus did. 40:29 Moses represents the law, Elijah represents the prophets. 40:33 Enoch might have been beholding from the front row. 40:36 We don't know. 40:38 But just Moses and Elijah came to appear. 40:40 This basically symbolizing the law and the prophets that 40:43 endorsed that Jesus was the Messiah. 40:46 Jëan: And also, we have a miniature 40:47 of the Second Coming there. 40:48 Jesus said, you know, just 6 days after he said to his 40:52 disciples: "You shall see the Son of Man in His glory." 40:54 Doug: Or 6 days before. 40:55 Jëan: Six days before that, yes. 40:57 And then, of course, Elijah represents those who are alive 41:00 when Jesus comes and are translated 41:02 to heaven without seeing death. 41:03 And Moses, who died and was resurrected, could represent 41:06 those who are resurrected at the Second Coming of Christ. 41:09 So, it's rather significant that you have those two appearing 41:12 with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. 41:14 Doug: It's a miniature picture of the Second Coming. 41:16 Jëan: We actually have a book called-- 41:18 Doug: It's called, "The Two Witnesses." 41:19 Jëan: "The Two Witnesses," that's right. 41:20 And it's free, we'll send it to anyone who calls and asks. 41:23 The number is 800-835-6747. 41:26 Ask for the book called, "The Two Witnesses." 41:28 Also you can dial #250 and ask for that. 41:32 Say "Bible Answers Live," and then ask 41:33 for "The Two Witnesses." 41:35 We've got John listening in Arizona. 41:36 John, welcome to the program. 41:39 John: Yeah, well, I listened to Pastor Doug's response to the 41:47 return of the Lord in Revelations 1:7, 41:51 but then in Matthew 24:27 it says that "Lightning Cometh out 41:56 of the east and flashes even unto the west." 41:59 I'm of the opinion, I'm asking for a comment on this, 42:04 that because I know lightning will travel around the earth 42:09 seven times in a second, to see the light, 42:13 and He says from east to west as the lightning flashes. 42:17 And it would seem logical that every eye would see Him 42:20 in a--within that second. 42:23 Doug: Yeah, well, I think that when Jesus talks about His 42:26 Second Coming being as lightning, 42:28 He's not emphasizing the speed of light, 42:31 He's emphasizing that everyone will see and it will not be a 42:35 secret 'cause when lightning flashes across the sky, 42:38 you don't have to elbow the person next to you and say, 42:40 "Did you see that?" 42:42 So He's actually addressing the idea that His Coming would be a 42:45 secret and He's saying, "It's not a secret. 42:48 It'll be like lightning that covers the heavens." 42:50 He's not saying that His Coming would sweep around the heaven in 42:53 the blink of an eye and He'd be done with it. 42:56 So, at least, that's my understanding. 42:58 But you make a good point. 42:59 He says: "It'll go from the east to the west." 43:01 He's talking about it traveling from point A to point B. 43:05 Jesus is coming from the east and He's going to sweep around 43:08 the world for the--you know, going west 43:10 and head back to heaven. 43:12 Jëan: And not only that, Pastor Doug, 43:14 but Joel said the earth that is still turning when Jesus is 43:16 coming, so as Christ approaches the earth and the earth keeps 43:20 turning, well, in 24 hours the earth has made a full rotation. 43:24 Everybody has seen Jesus coming. 43:26 Even before He sweeps around the earth. 43:28 As He's approaching the earth, everyone will see Him. 43:30 Doug: That's true, yeah. 43:32 Even if He stood still, everyone would eventually 43:34 see Him in 24 hours. 43:36 Jëan: That's right, because the earth, yeah, the earth turns. 43:37 We've got Ryan in New Mexico. Ryan, welcome to the program. 43:41 Ryan: Hello, again. 43:42 I have a different question this time. 43:45 Basically, whenever I'm talking about the Bible and, 43:49 you know, basically the difference between the law of 43:52 Moses and the Ten Commandments, is--were the two tablets were 43:57 made out of--were they made out of blue sapphire? 44:00 You know, because Yahweh, you know, 44:03 wrote on 'em with His finger, do you know what I mean? 44:06 And they kept them on the inside of the ark of the covenant and 44:09 then they had the law of Moses, you know, 44:13 written on paper by Moses. 44:15 D'you know what I'm saying? 44:17 And kept on the outside of the ark. 44:20 You know, and then you can go on from there, 44:22 but yeah, blue sapphire. 44:24 Were they made out of blue sapphire? 44:25 Doug: Yeah, some people conjecture that the Ten 44:28 Commandments were written on blue sapphire 'cause sapphire's 44:31 one of the stones that's mentioned as a pavement 44:34 around God's throne. 44:36 But there's no scripture, so all I would do is speculate and, 44:42 you know, I got to tell you, if it's--if I don't have a command 44:44 that says: "And this law was written on sapphire," 44:48 I can't tell you it was. 44:49 It just says, "two tables of stone." 44:51 Now, evidently, whatever that stone was, 44:54 it must have been available in the desert there because when 44:57 Moses broke the first tables of stone, 45:00 God told him to hew two more tables of stone like the first 45:04 and bring them up. 45:06 So, nothing is said about the value of the stone. 45:10 It could have been plain granite or some stone that was abundant, 45:13 probably hard, that was found there in the desert, 45:16 but not so hard that you, you know, 45:18 couldn't--I guess God could chisel on anything. 45:20 But, anyway, it never says it was sapphire. 45:23 We've got a member of our church that cuts stone, and he made us 45:29 a beautiful set of Ten Commandments on a bluish granite 45:33 'cause he thinks it's sapphire also. 45:35 Might be, we don't know. 45:37 So there's no command, no specific scripture. 45:40 Jëan: Yeah, and it's a good question. 45:42 Was there sapphire in that region, in the Sinai, in the 45:46 desert, and it must have been a large piece of sapphire. 45:50 Can you--you know, do you find that big of a sapphire stone? 45:53 I don't know. Maybe. 45:54 Doug: Yeah, well, I can't wait to find out, Ryan. 45:57 Jëan: Yeah, all right, we got Donna in Canada. 45:59 Donna, welcome to the program. 46:02 Donna: Thank you so much. 46:04 Okay, I'm trying to study the Bible, and I have to tell you 46:08 I've never been interested in history, 46:10 I've never been interested in politics. 46:13 I don't have a clue about either of those things and, 46:16 as I'm reading Daniel, I think it's Daniel 11, 46:20 it's talking about the king of the North and the king of the 46:22 South, and he's talking about all these different countries, 46:27 and I don't--it sounds like a foreign language to me. 46:30 So I just wondered if you had any books or whatever or 46:33 literature that might explain these things. 46:37 Doug: Great question. 46:38 You know, I think I should mention that Pastor Ross 46:41 right now is doing a class every week or almost every week, 46:45 going through Daniel, and he's just getting ready 46:47 to dive into Daniel 11. 46:49 Do not be discouraged, Donna, that you don't understand all of 46:52 the political intrigue that is happening in Daniel 11. 46:56 It is a challenge--it's one of the most challenging prophetic 47:00 chapters in the Bible, but very simply you've got a battle 47:03 between, it says, "the king of the North and the king of the 47:06 South," that starts out with the southern powers of the Greek 47:12 empire and the northern powers of the Greek empire and then 47:15 that kind of transitions over history. 47:18 How those transitions play out is quite a bit 47:20 of discussion on it--I don't know, Pastor Ross, 47:22 you got lessons coming out eventually. 47:23 Jëan: Yeah, we do, we're actually going to be 47:24 talking about that in a couple of weeks. 47:26 So, you know, if you want to tune in, 47:28 I think it's on YouTube, you can go take a look at that. 47:31 Yeah, it is interesting, you've got, as you mentioned, 47:32 Pastor Doug, the king of the North begins with the 47:35 Assyrian powers, part of the Grecian empire, and 47:39 you have the king of the South, Ptolemy, would be the lineage. 47:43 And the king of Egypt. 47:46 Eventually, the king of Egypt is subdued by the king of the North 47:48 which would be the Grecian power. 47:51 There's different kings that come and go but they all fall 47:53 under the king of the North. 47:55 But then, Rome conquers the Greeks, 47:58 and Rome becomes the king of the North. 48:01 And very interesting, 'cause it plays even to both Rome in its 48:04 pagan form and also in its papal form. 48:06 Then you get to around verse 40, it brings you right up to our 48:09 time so, yeah, there's a lot there. 48:11 Doug: Yeah, great question, Donna. 48:13 Keep studying. You'll get clear. 48:17 Jëan: All right, we got Lloyd in Arkansas. 48:21 Lloyd, welcome to the program. 48:23 Lloyd: Thank you very much for listening to me. 48:26 Doug: Yes. 48:29 Lloyd: My question is: "Can you explain to me Psalms chapter 48:33 2, verse 7, and Hebrews chapter 5, verse 5?" 48:38 What is taking place there and who's doing 48:41 the talking and whom? 48:42 Doug: Great, all right, let me read it for our friends. 48:44 If you go to Psalms, this is 2nd Psalm in verse 7, 48:48 it says: "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 48:52 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 48:55 Ask of Me,'" and I want to read verse 8 also. 48:57 "Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your 48:59 inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession." 49:03 So when you get to the New Testament, 49:05 we see that this is--this is a prophecy of Jesus, and if you 49:11 look in Hebrews 1, verse 5, it says: "For to which of the 49:15 angels did he ever say: 'You are my Son?'" 49:17 Paul, assuming Paul wrote Hebrews, Paul is saying this is 49:20 a prophecy about Jesus. 49:21 He's not talking about angels being His Son, 49:24 and David, when it says: "My Lord--the Lord said to my Lord, 49:28 'Sit at My right hand,'" so you've got the Lord 49:31 talking to the Lord. 49:33 So, clearly, it's God the Father talking to God the Son. 49:36 It's the same God the Son you see in Daniel 7 who comes 49:39 before the Ancient of Days. 49:42 So, when it says: "This day I have begotten You," there it's 49:47 really talking about the incarnation of Jesus. 49:51 Jëan: And of course, you have--well, you've already 49:53 read verse 8, but verse 9 says: "You shall break 49:55 them with a rod of iron; and You shall dash them into pieces." 49:58 Now, that's a messianic phrase when it talks 50:00 about a rod of iron. 50:02 It's also refer to Jesus when He comes and He smites the wicked, 50:05 it says, with a rod of iron that represents judgment. 50:09 So, clearly, this passage is talking about 50:11 Jesus, the messianic phrase. 50:12 Doug: Yeah, and that's in Revelation where it says: 50:14 "He will smash them as a rock." 50:15 Well, it actually says in Revelation 12, "A child 50:18 rules all nations with a rod of iron," man-child. 50:21 So, yup, I hope that helps a little, Lloyd. 50:24 And appreciate your question. Thank you. 50:27 Jëan: Okay, we've got Adrian in California. 50:29 Adrian, welcome to the program. 50:31 Adrian: Thank you so much. How are you guys doing? 50:34 Doug: Always better than we deserve. 50:36 Adrian: Thank you, thank you, and God bless. 50:38 As a Christian, if someone asks you the question, 50:41 "Are you saved," what should be your answer? 50:44 And should we know or be assured that we are saved now? 50:49 Doug: Yeah, great question. 50:50 Well, first of all, I always want to know who's asking me the 50:53 question, because there's a context. 50:55 If one of my Baptist friends says, "Are you saved?" 50:58 I'd say, "Yes," because what they're asking is, 51:01 "Do you know the Lord?" 51:03 If you've got an Armenian friend and he 51:04 says, "Are you saved?" 51:06 they're wanting to know, "Do you believe that once saved, 51:08 always saved," I'd explain to them that, 51:10 you know, I have confidence I know the Lord, that I am a 51:13 Christian, but it doesn't mean that I can't be lost. 51:17 And so, some of it just has to do with who's asking you the 51:20 question and what's inferred by that. 51:23 Can we know we have eternal life? 51:25 Can a Christian have some confidence? 51:26 Well, John says: "By this we may know that way 51:29 we have eternal life. 51:31 Whoever has the Son has life. 51:34 So, you know, I'm hoping that that's answering 51:38 what you're asking, Adrian. 51:39 But we're going to try and take one or two more calls. 51:41 We're running--the clock's running up on us 51:43 here and we see people waiting. 51:45 Jëan: We've got Diane in Washington. 51:46 Diane, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 51:48 We have just a few minutes. 51:50 Diane: Yeah, thank you so much for taking 51:52 my call, first of all. 51:54 I have a family member that's telling me that God created sin 51:57 and he's getting this from Isaiah 45:7. 52:03 And he goes, "Well, it does say: "I make peace and create evil," 52:06 and so just quickly, I'd like your thoughts on that 'cause I 52:09 don't believe that God created sin. 52:12 I mean, He gave--when He created Satan, 52:14 when He created Adam and Eve, He gave us free will, 52:17 you know, to choose, so I would just like feedback 52:19 on that, thank you. 52:21 Doug: Well, God is good, God is just, God is perfect. 52:23 And God does not create evil. 52:25 God created a beautiful angel that became a devil. 52:28 This verse is often misunderstood just because when 52:30 you go from one language to another, 52:32 it can lose some of its meaning. 52:35 Here, God is simply saying, "I'm the one who allows these 52:38 judgments to come." 52:40 And so, the word "evil" there is the word "calamity." 52:43 It means I can send calamity and, 52:47 you know, when God sent a flood on the world, 52:49 He sent calamity but it was really a judgment, so that's 52:51 different than evil. 52:53 A judgment is actually a good thing. 52:55 It's bringing justice. 52:57 You know, if a judge sentences, you know, 53:00 a violent criminal to prison, he's sending calamity to the 53:04 prisoner, but he's sending peace to the citizens. 53:08 So, it's not evil, it's good for a judge to do that. 53:11 So this is saying God sends judgment. 53:13 Jëan: All right, one last question, if we can get it in. 53:15 We've got Richard in-- 53:17 Doug: Nebraska. Richard, you're on the air. 53:19 Jëan: Richard, yup, got just a minute. 53:21 Richard: Hello. Doug: Hi. 53:23 Richard: I always wondered, 'cause it says in the Bible that 53:26 the devil deceived a third of the angels. 53:28 Do we have any idea, and it's kind of, like, 53:30 a silly question, but I always wondered 53:34 what was a third of the angels? 53:35 Do we even have any clue, you know, 53:38 how many of--a third of what? 53:40 A million? A billion? 53:42 Doug: Well, you know, the Bible does tell us that he's 53:45 surrounded by an innumerable company of angels, 53:49 and I think it says 10,000--He comes with 10,000 times 10,000. 53:52 Jëan: Thousands of thousands. 53:54 Doug: Yeah, that's--it's basically saying 53:55 that it's countless. 53:57 You know, God said the descendants of Abraham would be 53:59 like the stars and like the dust of the sea. 54:03 So there are billions of angels, there are guardian angels 54:05 for every human life. 54:07 And so if you figure there are 8 billion people in the world and 54:11 there's at least one guardian angel and there may be a 54:13 guardian and recording angels, or maybe they work in shifts, 54:16 there's billions of angels, and so, 54:19 yeah, one-third of them rebelled against God. 54:21 It's hard to put an exact number on that, 54:23 obviously, but don't worry, God is not running short on angels 54:27 like some kings run short on soldiers. 54:30 He's got countless angels that minister to Him. 54:33 And for our listening friends, I always like a take 54:36 a moment and explain. 54:38 Those that are listening on satellite radio, 54:40 satellite and Free to Air have two different clocks that they 54:43 use, and it's because of that we sign off sort of in two stages. 54:47 We'll say farewell and God bless to our friends that are 54:51 listening on satellite. 54:52 For all the others, stand by, because we are going to be 54:55 taking a couple of minutes answering 54:57 your internet questions. 54:59 And we'll be doing as many rapid-fire questions as we can 55:03 in just a couple of minutes. 55:04 For the rest of our friends, God bless. 55:06 We'll study together again next week. 55:11 announcer: Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. 55:14 We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. 55:17 "Bible Answers Live" is produced by Amazing Facts International, 55:21 a faith-based ministry located in Granite Bay, California. 55:27 Jëan: Hello, friends, and welcome back to 55:29 "Bible Answers Live." 55:30 We're going to take your email questions. 55:31 If you have a question, just BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. 55:37 That's BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. 55:40 Pastor Doug, from Trinidad, Kian is asking: "Is Michael the 55:44 archangel Jesus, and if so, what are the scriptures?" 55:49 Doug: Yeah, I remember when I first learned 55:50 this, I thought, "How can that be? 55:52 He's called an angel." 55:53 Well, it's not a regular angel. 55:56 One of the titles for Jesus is "Michael the Archangel," and it 56:00 doesn't mean Jesus is an angel. 56:02 That word "archangel," it means the greatest messenger. 56:05 And the Bible says: "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven 56:08 with a shout and the voice of the archangel." 56:11 It's the archangel that resurrects Moses. 56:15 It's the angel of the Lord that Joshua worships, and we are only 56:19 to worship God and that's in the book of Joshua, 56:21 chapter 2, I think. 56:24 Jëan: Right, the verse talking about the archangel is 56:26 1 Thessalonians 4:16. 56:27 It says: "The Lord will come with the voice--with the 56:29 shout of the archangel." 56:31 Okay, next question that we have, 56:33 we've got Dennis asking: "Where did Melchizedek come from? 56:37 It talks about him not having a father or a mother. 56:39 Does this mean that he is God himself?" 56:42 Doug: Yeah, when Paul says that Melchizedek is without 56:44 father and mother, beginning of days, he's simply making 56:47 a comparison of Melchizedek when no genealogy is given. 56:52 He appears suddenly in history and disappears, 56:55 and we don't know what people he's of. 56:56 He said, "Well, that's like Christ who is from eternity to 57:00 eternity, has no beginning or end." 57:02 But Melchizedek was a real person. 57:04 There's just no citation of his people or where he went. 57:08 Jëan: "What is the delusion that God speaks about in 2 57:11 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 11, 57:13 where it says, 'They do not love the truth. 57:15 God sends them a strong delusion'"? 57:17 Doug: Well, it's probably the same delusion Jesus warns about 57:20 when He said that "if it were possible, 57:21 even the very elect would be deceived. 57:24 The devil and three unclean spirits come out of the mouth: 57:27 the beast, the dragon, and the false prophet, 57:29 performing signs and wonders to deceive the leaders of the world 57:33 and bring them to that Battle of Armageddon." 57:35 So, the nature of that delusion, Satan himself we believe is 57:39 going to impersonate Christ and talks about 57:41 bringing fire down from heaven. 57:43 We don't know exactly what the particular miracle is but 57:48 that's why it's going to be a delusion. 57:49 I think it's going to surprise much of the earth. 57:52 Jëan: All right, and, you know, I'm looking at the clock, 57:54 Pastor Doug, we don't have time for any more calls but we do 57:57 want to remind you, you can just simply email your question to 58:00 BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. 58:03 We're going to try and answer as many of these at the end 58:05 of each of our programs. 58:07 Doug: Amen, don't forget to check out AmazingFacts.org 58:11 for a plethora of Bible study materials and videos and then 58:14 share the link with your friends. 58:16 God bless, friends. Until next week. 58:19 announcer: "Bible Answers Live," honest and accurate 58:22 answers to your Bible questions. |
Revised 2024-02-23